Persuasive And Informative Writings

Persuasive and informative writings are very effective is their writing style. Each type has its own unique quirks and formats, but most are looking to draw their reader in and then give them their thoughts on the matter, to have them see what the author sees. One type of writing that is a combination of both is the problem-solution format. This pattern is used to inform a reader about an issue, drawing them in with facts and statistics that interest them, and then suggest a solution. Svoboda’s book What Makes a Hero is definitely a problem and solutions book, the problem being society’s lack of understanding and action towards heroism and the solution being education and practice. Svoboda begins her book by explaining what society has done …show more content…
One of the biggest suggestions that Svoboda gives is towards meditation, which would allow people to “[go] deep into [their] inner reservoir of compassion and . . . also increase your capacity to perform selfless acts in everyday life” (60). This is encouraging the reader to use this method, meditation, to be more compassionate, though at the moment it is mentioned as a study and not a solution. It plants the seed of curiosity in the readers mind that has them wonder if this really works or not. The biggest, and by far the most shocking research mentioned was performed by Zimbardo in the 1970’s. These experiments took normal students and put them in a scenario where there would be either a guard or a prisoner. What was an innocent test on a persons’ role and their ability for compassion turned into a living nightmare for the parties involved (111). This was mentioned to be the Lucifer Effect, and was certainly mentioned in the book so that the reader could view and extreme case of non-compassion and lack of heroism. After mentioning this specific horror, Svoboda goes into Part Two of her book titled …show more content…
Svoboda draws her audience in, getting them with scientific facts explaining the cause, then she makes suggestions and gives examples of the way that heroism, or the lack of it, impacts society. Lastly, she includes a bright spot, a point of hope for the reader that is necessary in all problem and solution essays. These criteria, the intro, facts, and bright spot, all come together to make Svoboda’s book What Makes a Hero a well written example of a problem and solution formatted